“Reading J.’s science inquiry journal has been a wonderful experience.  His thoughtful observations have amazed us. We are proud of his accomplishments, and he should be as well.  As he discussed his journal with us his face lit up with excitement. Seeing him so engaged in his learning is wonderful.  Thank you for helping J. flourish in his learning.”“Very interesting thoughts from little people!  A. can recognize her shadow and talks about it.  She was very proud when she was showing us her journal.  Good work JKs!”

“As I read through D.’s science inquiry journal, many emotions are felt.  I’m proud of his hard work and intrigued at the many thoughtful observations.  I’m grateful that he is given the opportunity every day to observe, engage, and express.  Thank you for creating an environment in which D. is flourishing his many talents.”“I was very impressed with the work and experience that V. has gained.  The different ways of thinking and seeing things as a child makes me wonder about how wonderful it is.  Thank you for all you do for our daughter.”“It was an impressive seminar and it was amazing that the JK students were able to come up with lots of ideas after the exploration and experimentation of light and shadow.  Now I’ve learned that shadows can be formed in different colours, not only in black!”

“R. was very excited about light and shadow experiments.  He lined up his construction toys on a sunny morning and saw the differences in shadow. Then he went outside to notice his own shadow on the grass.  It was an absolute pleasure watching him as he gets excited about learning.”

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The role of documentation in the process of learning cannot be underestimated. Through listening, recording, and sharing; the ideas and interests of our students are revealed and guide us through the inquiry.Reflective practice is “a dialogue of thinking and doing through which I become more skillful.” – Donald A. Schön, The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action (New York: Basic Books Inc., 1983)In depicting the learning through documentation, teachers must master many skills:  an art director, a writer, a photographer, and an educator. What am I seeing?  How do I capture this?  How do I present and share this? How can I enrich this learning experience and deepen understanding?  Diane and Louise generously shared their protocol for evaluating and reflecting on documentation, which they recently developed through this collaborative journey with Acorn School and Richland Academy. These clearly defined considerations provide insight on the process, and offer deeper understanding of documentation.We are grateful to Diane and Louise for their insight and support, and share their passion for learning. To gain greater insight on the work of Diane and Louise, we encourage you to explore Technology Rich Inquiry Based Research. Are you an educator developing your skills in documentation?  Are you wanting to engage in documentation as an educator, but aren’t sure where to begin? We recognize the power of collaboration and would love to hear from you!

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This event brought together over 125 senior decision makers in the government, business, and non-profit sectors, as well as educators and students from across Canada. The Symposium mobilized knowledge about the links between formal education and active youth engagement. LSF’s latest youth-designed project, The Our Canada Project, was also launched at this event. The Our Canada Project is an innovative platform for all Canadians to engage in conversations about the future and share their actions of responsible citizenship.

The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, addresses Symposium participants

“At the symposium there was a group of young people that built a new website named the Our Canada Project. I thought that this was inspiring because it told me that any young people can do anything if they put their minds to it.”- A.P., Grade 6

Primarily, the questions the symposium sought to address were:

• What do children and youth need to know, do, and value in order to ensure they are responsible, active, and contributing citizens?
• How can formal education be reoriented to meet these goals?

The full report of the What’s Worth Knowing: Educating for Responsible Citizenship Symposium will be available for download shortly.

“I was proud to be invited to this invaluable symposium, asking such pertinent questions regarding education today. It was enlightening and energizing to take part in discussions with senior decision makers in the government, corporate, non-profit sectors, together with educators and students from across the country, all with the same goal; to strive to create an education sphere that fosters the active engagement of its young citizens. I think it’s amazing that K.D. and A.P. had a chance to take part in these valuable and potentially life changing conversations, and that their ideas will be part of LSF’s upcoming report.” – Ms. Pitt, Children’s Rights Team Leader and Performing Arts Teacher

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“Parents can plant magic in a child’s mind through certain words spoken with some thrilling quality of voice, some uplift of the heart and spirit.”  - Robert MacNeil  

Our journey began over the past weekend, during dinnertime. It was Sunday evening and we were discussing the upcoming events for the week with the boys.

“How many days until my show and share?” J.K.

J. is extremely excited about his turn for Show and Share. We count through the days of the week until we get to Friday – 5 more days.  He begins to list off several items he would like to bring, ranging from his picture of a frog to his collection of Lightning McQueen cars.  We begin to ask J. and his brother what they are investigating at school currently.

“We are learning about frogs.” D.K.

“We are growing trees mommy.” J.K.

“Mama, can I take my picture of the frog like D.?” J.K.

We probe further and start a discussion about Earth Day – which the boys are discussing in class.

What is Earth?

“Earth is where we live.” Devin

“You know mommy, we have to take care of Earth.” J.K.

Why do we have to take care of the Earth?

“We don’t want the Earth to get sick.” J.K.

What would happen if the Earth got sick?

“The trees would crack down.” D.K.

What can we do to take care of the Earth?

“You should put the garbage in the right place.” D.K.

“If you don’t have a garbage bag put it in your pocket, and when you get home, put it in the garbage.” J.K.

After our discussion about Earth and what Earth Day is, J. exclaimed, “Mommy, I want to take Earth to school!”

So we began discussing how we could do that.

“We could draw a picture of Earth.” D.K.

“We need to make a circle because the Earth is round.” J.K.

I began discussing how we could make the Earth, instead of drawing a picture I suggested paper mache.  When I showed the boys what that was (thanks to YouTube), they were very excited and wanted to begin their masterpieces  immediately.  When I picked them up from school, J. promptly asked me if I had everything ready to make his show and share and he told Ms. Sherry that he was going home to paint the Earth.   When I left Richland that day I couldn’t stop smiling. My boys were engaged in their learning, they were curious and asking questions and excited to share their findings with their classmates. The journey has only begun for my two little guys, but what a great start! As a parent you couldn’t ask for anything more.

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Here is his story!

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Here are some of their thoughts:

• “A good book has to be funny, exciting and interesting.” (A.K.)
• “Once you read it you want to read it again, you learn stuff you didn’t know. It has to be about something.” (H.G.)
• “It is funny, it’s about what you like. There are interesting characters like princesses, fairies, and happily ever after.” (V.Z.)
• “Something like the Witches, it’s exciting, you want to know what is going to happen next. Something that is your style, that you are interested in.  It has a lot of detail.” (L.D.)
• “When you are reading a book that you are interested in, you feel like you are inside that book.” (A.H.)

And here are the BIG IDEAS they distilled from their conversation:

• Books have to have an adventure,  be funny, exciting and interesting.
• We have to connect to it in some way or we have had it for a long time. It means something to us.
• You can learn something from a book.
• There is a moral or a lesson learned from a story.
• You can learn a good habit.

“It is not true we have only one life to live, if we can read, we can live as many lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish.” ― S.I. Hayakawa

Now it’s your turn!  We love hearing from you – What do you think makes a good book?

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She rushed into share: “I found a rock in the backyard to bring to school for Earth Day.”

She then went back out and came back with a larger rock and shared, “I found a giant rock for school…”Seems like some great things are happening, thanks so much! (Experience shared by Ms. V)

A true personal learning experience was captured by listening, allowing a parent to be captivated by the learning connection… A most profound, Reggio Inspired moment. Partnerships with families and communities strengthen the ability of early childhood settings to meet the needs of young children.  (From Early Learning for Every Child Today, 2006.)

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• Building with blocks builds mathematicians who explore numbers, geometry, measurement, and early data management concepts such as grouping and sorting.
• Building with blocks builds scientists who experiment with the concept of gravity.
• Building with blocks builds leaders who can collaborate, using their communication skills to accomplish great things.
• Building with blocks builds authors and artists who use their imaginations to create representations of their thoughts and ideas.
• Building with blocks builds architects and designers who can plan, problem solve, and create.

What Does Recent Research Tell Us?

“Studies dating to the 1940s indicate that blocks help children absorb basic math concepts. One study published in 2001 tracked 37 children and found that those who had more sophisticated block play got better math grades and standardized test scores in high school. And a 2007 study by Dimitri Christakis, director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children’s Hospital, found that those with block experience scored significantly better on language acquisition tests.”

With Blocks, Educators Go Back to Basics (Kyle Spencer, New York Times, November, 2011)

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“Documentation, by making visible the voices and work of children, the engagement of teachers and the commitment of a community can have the essential role of advocacy for a democratic education.” (Karyn Callaghan)

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Making Bombs for Hitler, by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, was very sad, but very interesting and entertaining. The major life lesson that I take from this book is that I should be thankful for what I have. This book had me crying at some points. All of the characters in this book – the slave labourers at least, have nothing. The only thing they can do, is do their best at their job and hope and pray that their supervisors are impressed. People like us have everything – Xbox, Wii, toys, etc. In Making Bombs for Hitler,  I thought to myself, that people like us have everything and then still get more, and people like Lida and Luke have to literally work for their lives. I was sad when I read this book because I felt very selfish. Another life lesson in this book is that you should treat everyone the same. Hitler killed people because he thought they were “different” or “sub-human” when clearly, if anyone was wrong it was definitely him. I don’t know the real reason behind him wanting to do this, but he wanted to create the “perfect” Aryan race. I definitely think he was wrong in trying to do this. He was wrong in everything that he tried to do related to the war. In reading about what he did I realized that treating everyone the way you want to be treated is not just a saying. What he did taught me that.

This book made it seem like the characters’ lives were so terrible that I couldn’t think of any way that I could possibly relate to these poor kids. I have never once in my life been in situations as dreadful and grim as these. I don’t think anyone that I have ever met has ever been in a situation even close to as dangerous and gruesome as these. I strongly hope that no children ever have to go through this again. I wish these situations would have NEVER happened. For example, when Lida was being fed at the barracks and everyone was being fed well, Lida and the other Russians had a separate bowl of soup, a separate type of soup (with only turnips and bugs instead of the beef stew), and even a separate ladle. She was called a “sub-human” by the person who was serving the soup and forced to eat it anyway. The thought of anyone having to go through this again is utterly terrifying.

I can only think of one conversation that we have had in class that can relate to this book. I think the talk about “what is normal” relates because of Hitler. The whole reason that Hitler started the war was because he thought that there were only a few types of people who are “normal.” For example, Hitler killed anyone who fit these descriptions: children, women, political rivals, mentally handicapped, physically handicapped, and gypsies. The point of the war was to eliminate everybody who wasn’t “normal”. This book relates to the conversation about normal because the point of the war was normality, and the point of the conversation is that there is no normal.

After reading this, I would like you to know that despite what I have said, it was a very good book. It was sad and sometimes upsetting, but it was a very good book. It was well written, and it was a book that made me never want to put it down. It was sad for most of the book, and it waits until the absolute last page of the entire book to have a happy ending. After all the sadness in the entire book, it still has a happy ending. I promise you that you will like this book, if you like the type of book that gets you attached to the characters. It is exciting, sad, scary, interesting, and suspenseful. Please take into consideration my recommendation. I liked every part of this book and I hope that you will too! I look forward to hearing what you think!

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